Music is an important part of My Signing Time. In fact, when we started in 2002, Signing Time and Baby Signing Time were created using music. Our videos use original songs written by our founder and co-creator, Rachel de Azevedo Coleman and composed by her father and president of Two Little Hands, Lex de Azevedo. Rachel and her sisters (sister Emilie de Azevedo is co-creator of Signing Time) and brothers sing many of the songs in Signing Time. Some of the Rachel & the TreeSchoolers are written and performed by Rachel’s brother, Aaron. So, yes, we really do love music!
The Science of Music
Baby Signing Time is loaded with music, and we use so much music because of its benefits for young children.
Music helps young children in all areas of development – intellectual skills, social and emotional skills, motor skills, language skills, and literacy skills.
Music can help very young children learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music can help kids build motor skills and learn self-expression. For all of us at any age, music helps to strengthen our memory skills, and we could all use that!
In 2016, the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute conducted a study on musical experiences in childhood. It showed that music causes accelerated brain development, especially in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills.
Additionally, the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM Foundation) states that learning to play an instrument can improve mathematical skills and increase SAT scores.
Music Comes Naturally
Children often express themselves through music. Kids are known to make up songs as they play, and many babies bounce in rhythm when they hear music.
We can use this natural tendency to respond to music as we lead our families. I used quiet, soothing music to help my little ones wind down for bedtime. A friend of mine used songs to lead transitions in her preschool class. Both of these musical solutions worked wonderfully.
You can come up with ways to use music with your children as well. An easy way to do this is with My Signing Time. MySigningTime has a large section of music videos, and with a My Signing Time subscription, you can access all of them. Take a look at our original music videos here!
Musical Signs You Can Use
Why not take an opportunity to teach some new signs to your kids while you enjoy music? You can teach the sign for dance, or the sign for music.
Music really is a big deal to us! If you’d like to read more about the beautiful beginning of Signing Time, you can find the story here and here.
And don’t forget to try out My Signing Time with a 14-day free trial for access to our original songs!